Earlier in the day, VAVEL USA brought you news from MLS that Frank Lampard had extended his loan stay with Manchester City until the end of the English domestic season and would join up with New York City Football Club afterwards. It appears that is no longer the case.

Rumors have emerged in the last few hours from Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl and the BBC's David Ornstein that Lampard never actually signed with New York. Because there was no NYCFC franchise until March, his contract was with Manchester City and there was never any written deal with the MLS side.

As Ornstein put it: "Lampard 'signed' for New York City FC in July but with the new MLS season not starting until March, he joined Manchester City - who part-own New York City - until January. Crucially, this was not a loan deal but a short-term contract signed as a costless agent. It is understood the contract was for the entire season, with a break clause that was agreed would be activated at midnight on 31 December. City needed that break clause removed if Lampard was to remain with them, which happened on Wednesday."

The critical part of this is that it was not a loan deal, as had been widely reported by Major League Soccer. They announced the signing of Lampard on July 24th, and his deal with Manchester City was announced on August 6th. The deal with City was reportedly for the entire season, but there was a clause in there that would have released him today so that he could have a bit of a rest before joining up with the MLS expansion side for preseason training in February.

In addition to the reports from the BBC, Wahl has been tweeting throughout the afternoon about this situation. He is widely considered the finest American soccer reporter, and his work with Sports Illustrated and Fox Sports have earned worldwide plaudits. 

Hours ago, Wahl tweeted this: 

"NYCFC source says Lampard's contract is owned by Man City & isn't a loan. Only adds questions & doesn't take away from message being sent.
-@GrantWahl"

Given the ownership situation with New York City Football Club, it is not surprising to find out that Lampard signed with Manchester City. The problem with this is that he never actually signed a contract with MLS. MLS owns all player contracts, and if he signed with Manchester City he likely never actually signed an MLS contract. This is in direct contrast to his player bio on NYCFC.com.

If it is true that he never actually signed an MLS contract, there is nothing to force Manchester City to ever allow him to play for New York. The contract he reportedly signed with City was a one year deal, but given his sterling form for them this season, there is no reason to think they wouldn't want him to sign a contract extension. 

Further fuelling the storm of speculation and confusion that surrounds this story at the moment is the tweet which came out from Upper 90 Soccer. They are a New York based soccer clothing store, and today offered a full refund on any New York City Football Club jerseys with Lampard's name on the back.

Piling on to the decision from Upper 90 Soccer, New York City Football Club's Supporters Group 'The Third Rail' have released a statement denouncing the decision. The fans make the good point that if Lampard supposedly signed with MLS, why do Manchester City arbitrarily get to extend his stay? Additionally, they call into question the true intentions of City Football Group, the group who own both clubs.

"On behalf of the Third Rail, we would like to publicly denounce City Football Group’s and Frank Lampard’s decision to extend his loan to Manchester City until the end of the Premier League season.
Many fans, including our members, decided to support the team, committed to season tickets, and bought merchandise under the impression that Frank Lampard would be playing for New York City Football Club, not Manchester City.  Many of those fans are rightly outraged by this decision, and we support any course of action they take to voice their discontent over this decision.
Our support for our ownership group has been unwavering until now, but this we cannot support.  We reject out of hand any suggestion that NYCFC is in any way secondary to Manchester City FC, regardless of the source, and are disappointed that City Football Group would give such an appearance. 
The Third Rail will forever act as a voice for the fans of New York City Football Club."

It is clear that all of the facts about this case are still unknown, and it is far too early to draw any clear conclusions. Keep checking back with VAVEL USA for the latest on this story. 

Reporting from VAVEL USA writer Blayne Riffle was central to the writing of this piece.